The extreme removal of trees for beef, paper, and palm oil disrupts the carbon cycle, meaning that fewer trees are available to absorb carbon dioxide from the air. Over 2000 indigenous cultures are dependent on forests for their livelihoods, medicines, food and shelter. Intentional agricultural fires are scorching our planet, killing endangered wildlife, and threatening native communities. Soy production for animal feed is another quiet competitor that has doubled in the past 20 years as a result of the increased demand for meat and dairy products. What is the Biggest Reason for Deforestation? What animals does deforestation affect the most? This puts fertile topsoils, which are rich in organic matter, at risk of erosion. Deforestation removes vegetation which anchors soil in place. Timber is a major Russian export, so as loggers invade forests, the soil is compromised and loses its ability to hold moisture which leads to flooding. Infrastructural expansion not only displaces animals and increases the risk of deforestation, but it also encroaches on local residents’ homes and livelihoods. They even list soy, often criticized for land usage, as requiring up to 12 times less land, fuel, and water to produce compared to animal protein. By far, the largest contributor to deforestation is the agriculture of beef and other livestock. Trees have been cut for human use for thousands of years, but the industrial boom of the 1800s increased the demand for timber and also introduced technologies that made clearing land a much faster and easier process. In order to accommodate the 70 billion animals raised annually for human consumption, a third of the planet’s ice-free land surface, as well as nearly sixteen percent of global freshwater, is devoted to growing livestock. The Amazon rainforest is the most biodiverse forest on the planet but is also the most deforested. Veganism is not just about food choices. In all, scientists have identified eight commodities that drive almost all deforestation globally. Forests cover around one third of the Earth’s land mass and are the most biologically-diverse ecosystems on land. Forests are key to. Around 80 percent of that land is used for growing crops and creating grazing pastures for cattle. And the way in which they are altered by human activity has an impact on which species survives. One of the main crops grown in the rainforest is soybeans used specifically for animal feed. Close behind are logging and infrastructural expansion. It carries over into our personal care products, clothing, and even furniture and cars. This extreme clearing of land, especially for animal agriculture, results in habitat loss, amplification of greenhouse gases, disruption of water cycles, increased soil erosion, and excessive flooding. Brazil’s President Jair Balsonaro is often referred to as “Captain Chainsaw” reflecting his willingness to exploit the Amazon for profit. Bolsonaro’s lack of compassion toward our planet’s most diverse rainforest continues to incite concern in native communities, Brazilian government employees, and the rest of the world, for that matter. Once land is cleared and roots are ripped away, cash crops like coffee and soy are planted which can make erosion worse since their roots cannot anchor into the soil like those of a tree. Additionally, when trees are cut, especially in large amounts, excess carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. How Many Trees Are Cut Down for Agriculture? A variety of industries cause deforestation either directly or indirectly, but the main driver is animal agriculture. Without enough trees, soil is vulnerable to erosion and nutrient loss. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, More Than Talk: Making the Climate Conversation Meaningful, of forests are cleared by farmers and loggers per day worldwide, and the equivalent of over 10,000 football fields are destroyed each day in the. We couldn’t live without forests. The chart is self-explanatory: tree populations continue to decrease. Proposals for reform. Darrouzet-Nardi(2016): Carrying capacity of US agricultural land: Ten diet scenarios. Please support us! We are at a point in time where a complete cease in deforestation and serious restoration efforts are needed to prevent mass species extinction if we are to limit global warming under 1.5°C degree world. 70% of the Amazon Rainforest has already been destroyed and is now occupied by pastures and feed crops. Persuading the entire planet to go vegan overnight to combat climate change is not feasible. Pasture expansion to meet the demand for beef, as well as for the production of animal feed crops, such as … Temperate forests in Russia are experiencing increased deforestation and its effects. Without trees, a process called evapotranspiration – the evaporation from land and release of water from plant leaves – would not occur. Hallström, E., A. Carlsson-Kanyama & P. Börjesson (2015): Environmental impact of dietary change: a systematic review. The extinction of plants and animals in rainforests across the world do not isolatedly impact that region. Around 60 million acres are exclusively devoted to soy production in Brazil, and that number continues to climb along with the growing demand for meat. All rights reserved. Today, nearly 70% of cleared lands in the Amazon, the largest remaining tropical rainforest in the world, are used as cattle pastures. Fick & A.F. Forests are key to climate, water, health and livelihoods, yet we’re losing them at an alarming rate due to deforestation – the mass destruction of trees. Removing meat from the American diet completely would quadruple that number. Cattle ranching, animal agriculture, and logging are the. But I bet there’s one thing that you know you, and everyone else you know, REALLY couldn’t live without, despite our species’ habit of treating them as if they are not essential to the survival of everything we love. Our biodiverse rainforests are often hit the hardest by deforestation, including the plant and animal species residing within them. Agriculture is believed to be responsible for the recent Amazon fires, specifically land clearing for soy production to feed livestock around the world. Increasingly, the world’s agriculture system is expanding its terrestrial footprint to produce livestock feed that meets the growing demand for meat and dairy products or crop-based biofuels. Darrouzet-Nardi(2016): Carrying capacity of US agricultural land: Ten diet scenarios. Cherubin, B.J. One of the main crops grown in the rainforest is soybeans used specifically for animal feed. The lower species diversity in degraded forests indicates that many species are restricted to undisturbed forests. A significant amount of total deforestation occurs in rainforests, which are home to over 50 percent of plants and animals on the planet.
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